FII inflow crosses $5bn so far in 2012

Sensex Gains 139 Points To Close At 18,429, Seven-Month Closing High

Mumbai: Boosted by a strong rally in Reliance Industries and buying by foreign investors, which crossed the $5-billion mark for the year, the sensex gained 139 points on Tuesday to close at 18,429, a 7-month closing high. 
    The rally on Dalal Street, which has added about 3,300 points since the index touched a recent low at 15,136 level on December 20, was also boosted by expectations of rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and an investor-friendly budget, both the events are scheduled over the next one month. 
    Talks of announcement of a joint venture in the petrochemicals space, RIL rallied nearly 3% to close at Rs 842. The other sensex stocks that aided the day's gains were BHEL, up 4.8% at Rs 318, ONGC, up 3.7% at Rs 292 and Hindalco Industries, up 3% at Rs 156. Of the 30 sensex stocks, 19 ended higher, 10 were in the red while one closed unchanged. 
    The day's gains also came on the back of a Rs 1,400-crore net buying by FIIs, taking the year's total net foreign fund inflows through the stock market to over $5 billion. 
    On Tuesday, consumer price inflation data released by the government showed that it was moderating which further added to investors' expectation that the RBI would cut key policy rates in its next meeting in mid-March. This, in turn would boost the economy's growth, which has slowed down over the last few quarters. 
    The day's trading also witnessed Kingfisher slide nearly 20% on fears that the struggling private airlines may not get funds to survive. The stock, however, closed 0.8% higher at Rs 27 after hopes surfaced that its lenders may agree to infuse additional funds for its bailout. 
    In the international market, late on Tuesday, the Dow Jones index in the US crossed the 13,000-mark again after nearly four years (see box). 
    Among other markets, oil prices continued their northward run up with Nymex crude trading at nearly $105 per barrel. Earlier in the day crude had touched an intraday high at $105.44. 
Wall St up on Greek deal, Dow hits 13,000 
New York: US stocks rose on Tuesday, with the Dow briefly topping 13,000 for the first time since May 2008, after Greece secured a bailout, but gains were limited as investors had priced in expectations of a deal. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 43 points, or 0.33%, at 12,993 after rising to 13,005. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up nearly 5 points, or 0.36%, at 1,366. REUTERS